Bank of America has installed Florida's first talking cash machines in nine cities across the state.
The talking machines provide audible instructions to persons who cannot view information on an ATM screen. Privacy is protected through audio jacks that deliver spoken instructions to the user.
Doug Hall, chair of the access committee of the Florida Council of the Blind, praised the bank's announcement: "We applaud Bank of America and urge other banks in Florida to follow its example."
The bank first introduced talking ATMs in California in May of this year, following an agreement struck with the California Council of the Blind and several blind individuals to install more than 2500 talking ATMs in California and Florida - its two biggest markets - over a three-year period. Plans to install the ATMs in other states will be finalised early next year says the bank.